Railway switch mechanism



May 29, 19 45. R. ABERCROMBIE RAILWAY SWITCH MECHANISM Filed May 29,1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1' Rub Aaezckomme R. ABERCROMBIE RAILWAY SWITCHMECHANISM May 29, 1945.

Filed May 29, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a Rem Aaezcuzomms y 29, 1945- -R.ABERCROMBIE 2,376,952

' RAILWAY SWITCH MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet a 47 fiqvY\ I 4- 6 I a Rem Aaezozomms Patented May 29, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT7 OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for operatingrailway switches.

The primary object of the invention is to provide simple and efiectivemeans whereby the switch points leading from the main line track to theside track, or siding, may be automatically operated by a device on theengine or train in such manner that the train may be directed onto thesiding without bringing the train to a dead stop. A saving of time thusresults as well as a substantial saving in fuel which is required tostart the engine after it is halted.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of this nature which isoperative to automatically, and in response to travel movement of thetrain in opposite directions, adjust the switch points first to connectthe main line and siding and then to clear the main line after the trainhas-either entered the siding, or has left the same ready for travelagain upon the main line. I

A further object is to provide a switch operating mechanism operative asabove which is comparatively simple and convenient of installation, andwhich is positive and eflicient in operation.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novelconstruction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter fully set forth andclaimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a plan view of. a railway switch showing the same equippedwith the operating mechanism of my invention.

Figure 2 is an upright cross section through one of the remote control,train actuated lever units, being in this case the unit arrangedalongside the main line track.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing this unit in' process of operation bythe train.

Figure 4 is a similar view of. the similar lever unit which is disposedalongside the siding track, this view also showing a partof the train,

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the switch box which is disposedadjacent the switch points and which contains the latching mechanism andthe lever mechanism for actually winging the points, his'view alsoshowing adjacent parts of the control rods running to, the remotecontrol units of Figures 2-4.

Figure 6 is asectional view along the line 6-4 inFigur'e5;

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view along the line I-lin Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view along the line. 8-8 in Figure 2.

Figure 9 is an end elevation 6f the switch box of Figures 5 and 6,showing a part thereof broken away and one of the control rods in crosssection.

Referring now with'more particularity and by reference characters to thedrawings, my invention will be seen to comprise as its main elements amain line remote control unit Ill, arranged alongsidethe main line trackA (Figure 1) at a point some distance from theswitch, a second remotecontrol unit Ii arranged alongside the track 13' of the iding, also somedistance from I the switch, and a switch box, or switching unit I!disposed laterally of the switch itself. The switch, in accordance withusual practice, comprises swinging switch points C and D which, whenswung laterally in one direction connect the siding track with that ofthe main line so that a train approaching the switch will be guided ontothe siding, and when moved in the opposite direction will guide trafficalong the main line, the latter usually being the normal position of thepoints. The usual frog is indicated at E and the ties are generallydesignated at F. The switch points C and D are connected by a tie bar Gto operate in unison.-

The main line remote control unit I will be first described in detailand for convenience in' this description, the direction of travel ormovement toward the-switch, or leading into the siding, will be termedforward, while the opposite direction will, of course, be termedrearward. The unit In comprises a suitable. housing l3 which may besecured, as by screws II, to the ends of ties of extra length providedat the proper point along the main line track A. Arranged in thishousing are three levers IS, IS and I], which swing about pivots l8, l9and 20 respectively, mounted in the sides 2| of the housing transverselywith respect will clear the levers, or lowered to contact the same asthe train passes; Ordinarily, the train will carry at least one of suchmembers H on the engine, on the proper side, and another on the cabooseor last car, as shown in more detail and as indicated at J in Figure 4;To properly operate under all circumstances the train will more likelycarry such actuating members in pairs, oneon each end of the train andon opposite sides thereof, it being. further understood that propermeans will be provided (not herein shown) so that they may be raised andlowered conveniently by the trainmen while the train is in motion.

The lever is the first or primary latch release or unlatching lever andat its lower end, below the pin 18, is forked to straddle a latchoperating rod 23 which is slidably mounted lengthwise through thehousing l3 in openings 24 near its lower end, and which rod extendsparallel with the track toward the switch box I2. A stop collar 25 issecured to the rod 23 at one side of the fork 26 on this lever so thatmovement of the lever in one direction will move the rod endwise whileopposite movement of the lever will simply cause the fork to swing clearof the rod without effect on the same. The lever I5 is disposed adjacentthe end of the housing l3 remote from the switch so that it will be metfirst by the actuating member H as the train approaches the switch, andarranged adjacent to the opposite end of the housing is the lever Hwhich is adapted also to move the rod 23 in the same direction as leverl5 but in response to swinging movement in a direction opposite to thatof lever l5. To this end the ing movements of the lever 23, suchmovement in one direction urging the rod 23 lengthwise, and in the otherdirection having no effect on the rod as previously described. It willbe noted that the respective leverages acting upon the rod 23 by thelevers are exactly the same so that the levers I5 and I1 will both movethrough the same distances in actuating the rod. This lever l1constitutes the second, or secondary, latch release or unlatching lever.

The lever 16 is disposed between the aforesaid levers l5 and I1 and isfulcrumed upon its pin l3 to move in a vertical plane exactly coincidingwith that of the other levers. At its lower end this lever it, which maybe termed the switch control lever, is pivotally connected at 33 to theend of a switch actuating rod 34 extending from the housing, throughan-opening 35 therein, to

ward the switch box. This lower end of the lever may of course be ofisetas represented at 36 to cause the rod 34 to clear the other parts.

The remote control unit II is similar to that just described and ismounted alongside the siding track B by means of screws 31 driven intoties suitably extended from the track, as clearly shown, this unitcomprising a housing 38 open at its upper end 39 to clear the upper endsof three levers 40, 4i and 42. These levers, exactly corresponding inarrangement and mounting to the aforesaid levers l5, l5 and I1, aremounted to swing about the pivot pins 43, 44 and 45, which are disposedtransversely with respect to the .line of travel along the siding track.The lever 40 is in this case also provided with aidepending lower endforked as at 46 to straddle a latch operating rod 41 similar in functionto the rod 23, this lever being hereinafter called the primary latchrelease lever. The fork 46 cooperates with a stop collar 48 secured onthe rod 41 so that swinging movement of the lever in one direction willmove the rod lengthwise while opposite movement will allow the fork toswing clear without eifect upon the ,rod. It will ,be understood thatafter each such.

rod thereturn movement will restore the fork to its position straddlingthe rod ready for further action.

The lever 40 is so disposed in the housing as to be met first by theactuating member H on the train as said train enters the siding, anddisposed adjacent the opposite end of the housing 38 is the other, orsecondary, latch release lever 42 which in this case also carries a gearsegment 49 for translating its motion. The segment 49 meshes with asimilar gear segment 50 carried by the crank 5| which is arranged toswing upon a pin 52. The lower end of the crank 5| has a fork 53 toengage the rod 41 and cooperate with a stop collar 54 thereon in exactlythe manner previously described. The rod 41 extends slidably throughopenings 55 in the ends of housing 38 toward the switch box 12.

The lever 4| is disposed intermediate the levers '43 and 42 in the samevertical plane and at its lower end, below the pin 44, is pivotallyconnected at 56 to a link 51 which extends loosely through lever l1carries a gear segment-21 which meshes, with a similar segment 23forming a part of a motion reversing or translating lever or crank 23which swings about a pivot pin 30. The lower end of this lever 29 has afork 3| straddling the rod 23 and coacting with a stop collar 32thereon, it, being readily apparent that swinging movements, of lever l1will be translated into opposite swingan opening 58 in the housing endand exteriorly thereof is pivoted to one end of a rocker arm 53. Saidrocker arm is fulcrumed at 60 upon a bracket 6| secured upon the housingand at its lower end, opposite that to which the link is connected, ispivotally attached to the end of a switch actuating rod 62 extendingtherefrom in the direction of the switch box l2. The lever 4|, which ofcourse is the switch actuating lever, thus has its motion reversed ortranslated by the link and rocker arm mechanism for a purpose presentlyto appear.

Turning now to the switch box l2, the same comprises a housing or box 63which is secured by screws 64 to the ends of the ties which pass beneaththe switch points C and D. The box has a cover 35 hinged at 6B andprovided with a lock 31 by which the box is ordinarily kept closed.Within the box there is provided an upright bearing post 68 whereon isfulcrumed a switch lever 69 so that the same may oscillate in ahorizontal plane. One end of the lever '69 is pivotally attached at 10to the end of a connecting rod 1| which extendsthrough an opening 12 inthe side of the box toward the switch points C and D and which at itsother end is connected thereto as represented at 13. The opposite end ofthe switch lever 53 is pivotally attached to a link 14 extending throughanother opening 15 in the box and connected exteriorly thereof to acrank 16 fulcrumed at 11 upon a suitable plate 18 secured atop the tie.The other end of the crank 16 is pivotally connected at 19 to one end ofthe hereinbefore described switching rod 34 and at the same point ispivotally connected to another switching rod which, in effect, forms acontinuation of rod 62. For the purpose of connecting the rod 83 to rod62, and compensating for the offset relation of 'the two, I provide theassembly of bell cranks and a link designated generally at 8| in Figure1, these parts being well known in ets formed in the posts and rest uponexpansion coil springs 81 placed therein to bias the latch plate in anupward direction. I'he latch plate 82 itself is angularly shaped toconform tothe included angle between the positions assumed by theopposite sides of the switch lever 69 in its two positions, or in otherwords, so that one side 88 of the latch plate will engage the edge oftheswitch lever in its normal position, while the other side 89 will engagean opposite edge of the lever when it is moved to its other adjustedposition. Obviously then, the latch plate will prevent movements of theswitch lever to. and from such positions unless the plate is drawndownwardly beneath the horizontal plane through which the lever swings.When thus lowered the latch plate will be automatically raised again tolatching position when released, by action of the springs 81, suchmovements being carried out and limited by connections now to bedescribed.

Depended from the member 83 is a pivotally suspended link 98 which atits lower end is connected to one end of a bell crank 8| fulcrumed at 92to a bracket 93 carried by the end of the switch box, and the other endof this crank projects downwardly through an opening 94 in the bottom85. Beneath the box this lower end of the crank 8| is pivotally attachedat 95 to one end of the latch operating rod 41 and is at the same pointsimilarly connected to one end of another rod 96. This rod 96 forms anextension of the latch actuating rod 23 to which it is connected throughthe medium of a bell crank and link mechanism, designated generally at91 in Figure 1. This mechanism, of course, compensates for the offsetrelation of the respective rods 86 and 23 and connects the same to movein unison.

Also connected to the lower end of the link 90 is one end of a handlever 98 which is fulcrumed upon a bracket 99 in the box and which maybe reached by the trainmen to operate the latch plate 82 by hand whenthe cover 65 is unlocked and opened. Obviously, when the switch box isthus opened the latch plate may be depressed by pulling upwardly uponthe handle Hill of the lever 98 after which the switch lever .69 may bemoved to throw the switch manually.

It will be noted that the remote control units I and II each have buffersprings HH arranged within the ends of the respective housings l3 and38, and the purpose of these springs is to hormally hold the latchactuating levers l5-l'l and 48-42 in their'normal positions whilepermittin limited movement of the levers beyond such positions in thedirection of the ends of the housings. Such movements of the leversisoccasioned by the movement of the train back and forth past these unitsas will be presently described.

In operation, assuming a train to be approaching the siding and requiredto enter the same for some purpose, the actuating member H, at the frontof the train and on the side at which the remote control unit i0 islocated, is lowered by the trainmen and the following operation thentakes place without the train coming to a halt. The member H being thuslowered to a level at which it will contact the upper end of the primarylatch release lever l5, the movement of the train will swing this leverforwardly or toward the switch causing the forked lower end26 to urgethe latch rod 23 endwise in such manner as to pull upon the lower end ofthe bell crank 9| in the switch box l2. Such movement of this crankwill, as clearly evident, draw the latch plate 82 downward effecting theprimary release or unlatching of switch lever '89. Immediately as thistakes place, the lever has reached a position such that it contacts theswitch actuating lever I8, causing the same to swing in the samedirection exerting a pull upon the rod 34 and causin the crank I6 to somove that the link 14 will urge the switch lever to its dotted lineposition in Figure 5 and set the switch points C andD to a position atwhich they will guide the train onto the siding. All of such operationstake place, of

course, before the train actually reaches the switch.

The lengths and relative heights of the upper ends of the levers i5 andI8 are such, with respect to the path traveled by the actuating memberH, that as the lever l5 reaches and starts to swing lever I6, it willclear the member H as'seen in Figure 3. As this occurs the lever 15 willbe freed and may swing back to starting position under influence of thebias exerted by the springs 81 which immediately have a tendency toreturn the latch plate 82 to locking position. The plate will in fact soreturn as soon as the switch lever reaches its adjusted position but notbefore, as should be clear. Prior to its movement, or the initiationthereof, by the lever IS, the lever I6 rests at such an angle that it isbelow the level of the actuating member H, but it is then moved into thepath of the member H and as the train passes, the lever will swing to anequivalent po-' sition at the opposite end of the housing l3, againclearing the member, having meanwhile by such movement completed itsoperation of switch lever 69 as described.

As the train passes the unit it, the member H will of course impinge theother latch actuating lever l1 swinging it against the resistance of thebuffer springs l8! so that it will clear. Such action will not, however,have any effect upon the latch plate since the fork 8! will simply swingclear of rod 23.

Before the head end of the train reaches the other remote control unit,the previously lowered member H may be raised into the clear and thesimilar member upon the back of the train will be lowered at this time.This member will then engage the primary latch releasing lever 48 in theunit i l, swinging the same in the proper direction to push upon rod 41and move the crank 9| in the switch box downward to again draw the latchplate 82 downward into the clear. Lever 48 then engaging lever 4| willurge the same toward the opposite end of the housing 38 exerting a pullupon the rod 82 such that the crank 16 will be returned to its initialposition,

the resulting movement of the switch lever 68 back to normal positionagain swinging and resetting the switch points C and D to properpositions for traiilc along the main line track A. This condition of theremote control unit H is that shown in Figure 4.

The lever 48 of course clears the member H, as has been previouslydescribed, allowing the latch plate to again secure the switch lever inits normal position.

If the train is then to return to the main line, the same actuatingmember H will, as it meets the lever 42, and moving in the oppositedirection now, swing this secondary latch releasing lever towards andagainst the lever 8|, the first movement being translated through the.crank 5i selv'es to many'applications in connections with to-properlymove the rod M draw the latch plate 82 downward to free the switch lever69.

The thenensuing movement of thelever'tl back to its starting positionwill again swing the switch lever 69 to its dotted line position movingthe switch points C and D back to connect the siding and main linetracks. 'When the train clears the siding the actuating member on thehead end oil-the train will similarly engage the secondary latchactuating lever I'l operating it in the same manner to first unlatch theswitch lever 69 and then operating lever it to return it to its initialposition which,of course, sets the switch points for main line trafficagain. 1

It will be apparent therefore that the train may be switched to andfrom. the siding without coming to a complete stop except as requiredfor standing iii-the siding, and that all necessary switching operationsmay be carried out readily by simple control of the various actuatingmembers onthe train. A considerable saving of time and fuel will thusnaturally result from the use of my invention. Obviously, the parts lendthemvarious track systems. i

Iclaim: I

1. In a railway switch assembly including a switch lever arranged foradjusting the switch points to set positions, of a latch device normallysecuring the switch lever against adjustments, and at least one controlunit arranged alongside the railway remote from the switch forcooperation with an actuating member carried by the train, said controlunit including a first lever 1 directional in its movements foradjusting the switch lever in opposite directions in response 3.-.In arailway'switch'mechanism including a switch lever adapted to adjust theswitch points to two set positions, of a latch device for normallysecuring the switch lever against such adjustments, a control unitarranged alongside the railway remote from the switch, a first lever insaid control unit adapted for movement in one direction by a train as itpasses and connected to the latch device for releasing the switch lever,a second lever in the control unit adapted for operation first by thefirst lever and then by the passing train, said second lever beingconnected to the switch lever for adjusting the same in response to suchmovement and while the switch lever is released from the latch device,the said second lever being also movable in opposite directions bycorresponding opposite travel movements alongside to thereby adjust theswitch points alternately to their two set positions, a third lever inthe control unit operative by movement of the train in a directionopposite to that affecting the first lever, the said third lever beingalso connected to the latch device for releasing the switch lever andbeing to travel movement of the train in opposite di-l rections, and athird lever in the control" unit and also connected to said latch deviceand operative by movement of the train in an opposite direction to thataffecting the first lever for un latching the switch lever.

2. In a railway switch mechanism including a a switch lever adapted toadjust the switch points to two set positions, of a latch device fornor- 'mally, securing the switch lever against such ad--' justments, acontrol unitarrang'ed alongside the railway remote from the switch, afirst lever in said control unit adapted for movement in one directionbya train as it passes and connected;

to the latch device for releasing the switch lever, a second lever inthe control unit adapted for operatior first by thefirst lever and thenby, the passing train, said second lever being-con nected to the switchlever for adjusting the same in response to such movement and while theswitch lever is released from. the latch device,

being adapted to initiate the switch setting movement of the secondlever,

adapted to initiate the switch setting movement of the second lever, thesaid first and third levers being'connected by a common operating rod tothe latch device, and means associated with one lever for translatingits movements in such manner that the opposite swinging movements of thelevers by the train as it passes in opposite directions will move theoperating rod in exactly the same manner.

4. In a railway switch mechanism of the kind described, for operatingthe switch of a switch track leading from a main track, said switchincluding conventionally hinged switch points connected'to and operableby a switch connecting rod'for movement alternately to direct a traineither over the main track or over the switch track, a switch boxtransversely aligned with the switch points and into which box theswitch connecting rod is slidably extended, a switch operating levermounted within the box through a medial point of the lever to oscillatein a horizontal plane, one end of this lever being connected to the freeend of the switch connecting rod within the box for moving the latter toclose or open the switch, a vertically movable switch latch mounted inthe box at the opposite l ,h end of the switch operating lever andspring b held to its retracted position within, the box through itsconnection with the said spring biased latch.

5. In a railway switch mechanism according to claim 4, separate meanssuitably spaced alongside the main and switch tracks at each side of theswitch box and connected at each side with the extended ends of thelatch release rod of the box for thrusting said rod contrary to theaction of the spring biased latch and for thereby releasing said latch,said means being ed'to normally rise to either side of the lever as thelatter is oscillatedfor releasactuatable by bumpers upon the ends of atrain moving onto or oi! oi the switch track, and means also operable bysaid bumpers and 'connected with the latch end of the switch operatinglever for swinging this lever and the switch connecting rod and switchpoints over the said latch to their other and alternate positions forclosing or opening the switch as the train either prepares to enter theswitch track or to leave the same. r

6. In a railway switch mechanism according to claim 4, a pair of latchrelease units spaced alongside the main and switch tracks at each sideof the switch box and connected with the extended ends of the latchrelease. rod thereof for slidably urging said rod contrary to its normalretracted position, for releasing the latch and freeing the switchoperating lever, switch operating units cooperatively associated withswitch to open the main line after each switch closing operation 0f themechanism for the, passing of a train over the switch track in eitherdirection.

REID ABERCROIVIBIE.

